HDA Summer Intern Spotlight

On Monday, July 11, the Military Affairs Council (MAC) and the Hawaii Defense Alliance, in partnership with Booz Allen Hamilton and the Hawai‘i Technology Development Corporation (HTDC), hosted a Summer Intern Spotlight at the Entrepreneur's Sandbox in Kaka‘ako.

The spotlight showcased Hawai‘i students participating in internship programs and their employers who developed these opportunities. The event began with an opening from Jennifer Sabas and Jason Chung of the MAC followed by remarks from Len Higashi, director of HTDC, and John Greene, defense industry specialist at the State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

GEN Charlie Flynn, commander of the U.S. Army Pacific, provided the keynote and shared his thoughts and perspective of his role here in Hawai‘i and the Indo-Pacific region as well as the importance of engaging with the community organizations. 

During the Show & Tell portion of the program, led by Ed Barnabas, Indo-Pacific Principal/Director at Booz Allen Hamilton, Hawai‘i students participating in internship programs showcased their experiences and achievements from participating in their respective program. Companies included:

• Mitre/Deloitte
• American Savings Bank
• Huntington Ingalls
• Servco
• Data House
• INDOPACOM
• NSA Hawai‘i
• Booz Allen Hamilton

To conclude the event, Eddie Ontai, president of Data House, led a panel discussion with Chris Loftis, Hawai‘i site lead of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Bob Lietzke, vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton and Alexina Chai, director, talent and organization development at American Savings Bank to discuss their best practices in developing internship programs for Hawai‘i's students as the next generation of leaders in the industry, business and government sectors. 

Mahalo to Booz Allen Hamilton, HTDC, and all participating companies for their support in the HDA Summer Intern Spotlight.

The Hawaii Defense Alliance is established by the State of Hawaii Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) through a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of Local Defense Community cooperation (previously, Office of Economic Adjustment). For more information about DBEDT’s Hawaii Defense Economy project visit DefenseEconomy.hawaii.gov.